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Mbeki, Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa

(Encyclopedia)Mbeki, Govan 1910–2001, anti-apartheid activist, politician, and writer. Mbeki was an influential leader of the African National Congress, the ...

Kings, books of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Kings, books of the Bible, originally a single work in the Hebrew canon. They are called First and Second Kings in modern Bibles, and Third and Fourth Kingdoms in the Greek versions, where the books o...

Ramus, Petrus

(Encyclopedia)Ramus, Petrus pyĕr də lä rämāˈ [key], 1515–72, French humanist and philosopher. Attempting to break through Aristotelian and scholastic traditions, Ramus wrote a number of works that became in...

Diderot, Denis

(Encyclopedia)Diderot, Denis dənēˈ dēdərōˈ [key], 1713–84, French encyclopedist, philosopher of materialism, and critic of art and literature, b. Langres. He was also a novelist, satirist, and dramatist. D...

columnist

(Encyclopedia)columnist, the writer of an essay appearing regularly in a newspaper or periodical, usually under a constant heading. Although originally humorous, the column in many cases has supplanted the editoria...

Galbraith, John Kenneth

(Encyclopedia)Galbraith, John Kenneth gălˈbrāth [key], 1908–2006, American economist and public official, b. Ontario, Canada, grad. Univ. of Toronto (B.S., 1931), Univ. of California, Berkeley (M.S., 1933; Ph....

Loesser, Frank

(Encyclopedia)Loesser, Frank (Frank Henry Loesser), 1910–69, American lyricist and songwriter, b. New York City. He is noted for smart, often witty lyrics that catch the tone and rhythms of vernacular speech. Loe...

Murray, Les

(Encyclopedia)Murray, Les (Leslie Allan Murray), 1938–2019, Australia's leading poet of the late 20th and early 21st cent., B.A. Univ. of Sydney, 1969. Son of an impoverished dairy farmer, he grew up in New South...

Ronstadt, Linda

(Encyclopedia)Ronstadt, Linda (Linda Maria Ronstadt), 1946–, American singer, b. Tucson, Ariz. She is known for the clarity and strength of her soprano voice and for the range of song genres in which she performe...

Ellison, Harlan

(Encyclopedia)Ellison, Harlan (Harlan Jay Ellison), 1934–2018, American writer best known for his science fiction, b. Cleveland. Ellison wrote more than 100 books and some 1,700 short stories and articles as well...